TULSA, Okla. — A family of foxes are making themselves at home in a suburban neighborhood near 51st and Sheridan.
"I don't know too much about the wild foxes that's in my backyard and my neighbor's yard," said Darryl Johnson, "and I didn't want to go out there in the back to get bitten or attacked."
Instead, Johnson and his neighbor Jay Ullman want the foxes removed. Johnson called the City of Tulsa and was told it doesn't do that. It referred him to a licensed wildlife relocation service.
"They wanted to charge me $300!" Johnson said. That's money he doesn't have on his fixed income. But, he would still like the foxes relocated away from his neighborhood.
Oklahoma's Department of Wildlife doesn't relocate foxes that take up residence in suburbia, but Micah Holmes told the Problem Solvers people should not worry when they see foxes in their neighborhood or yard.
"If you have a fox that's living in your neighborhood, or even in your backyard, you know, the first thing I would tell you is just enjoy that and watch it from a distance," said Holmes. "They can live right along beside us. They don't do any harm to, you know. They won't hurt a person or anything like that. They're just looking for insects, snakes, lizards, rats, mice, rabbits, that's what they eat."
Holmes said if you don't want foxes hanging around your home, you can make your yard less welcoming by doing the following:
- Don't feed your pets in your yard.
- Don't feed birds or squirrels. These are prey for foxes. They may also find the treats you put out tempting goodies to munch on themselves.
- Plug up holes in and under fences to prevent easy access to your backyard.
- Put skirting around raised decks, porches, outbuildings, and sheds to keep foxes from making dens underneath.
- Keep grass and weeds mowed down and trim up hedges where foxes may hide or make a den.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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